Boy carted off in ambulance after S.A. shooting as relatives scream in anguishSan Antonio Express-News

Tom Vinger, a DPS spokesman, confirmed in an emailed statement that the subpoena was withdrawn, but stopped short of saying the cases are closed.

“DPS will continue to investigate potential threats against public officials,” he said in the email.

Roy Barrera Jr., a San Antonio criminal defense attorney, weighed in on the matter Thursday, saying DPS could press criminal charges against Mayer even though he lives out of state.

“If the victim is a resident of Texas, DPS has jurisdiction over the case,” he said. “DPS has a right to investigate crimes against Texans and keep them safe from terroristic threats.”

Mayer, a 61-year-old art dealer from New York who describes himself as a liberal semi-anarchist, said he didn't know “what the hell happened.”

“This is what our tax dollars are being wasted on,” he said by phone.

Romano, who calls herself a “proud member of the #FeministArmy” on her blog and said she's a Democrat who moved to Austin from New York last year, said in a statement that she was “pleased” the subpoena had been dropped.

“We are pleased that DPS agreed to our request to withdraw the subpoena and that we were able to work informally and cooperatively to get this matter resolved without the need for time consuming and costly litigation,” she said in the statement, released through her attorney Michelle Kostun.

DPS demanded information on accounts for @prisonforbush and @deniseromano, including IP addresses the two accounts used July 17-19.

Twitter frequently receives and responds to subpoenas for law enforcement agencies regarding user account information but requires a search warrant or legal equivalent to release content like tweets, direct messages and photos.

On July 18, Mayer retweeted a post by Romano that mentioned Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Ohio Gov. John Kasich that said: “Should we execute Perry by lethal injection or stoning for all he's killed? #NeedYourPermission.”

He then responded several times to Romano, including one tweet that said, “Think he'd like to be like jesus crucify him I'll donate the nails.”

Per Twitter's policy, it sent emails to Mayer and Romano to inform them of the subpoena last week. Mayer then asked for a copy of the subpoena, and circulated that and the original letter from Twitter on social media networks.

Both users posted news that the subpoena was dropped on their Twitter accounts Thursday afternoon.

Though the heated debate was mostly peaceful, DPS officers arrested several activists who were observing the legislative process from the Senate gallery and the Capitol rotunda.

During the first scheduled vote on the bill, protesters made so much noise that they interrupted senate proceedings after an 11-hour filibuster, prompting a call for a second special session to handle the legislation.